The word privacy is never mentioned in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) text.

Privacy is a right that must be protected, and Data Protection are the measures that will be used to achieve this protection.

Data protection and privacy complement each other, but they are not the same.

A well-known phrase is: “You can have security without privacy, but you cannot have privacy without security”.

Recital 4 of the GDPR says:

The processing of personal data should be designed to serve individuals. The right to protection of personal data is not absolute; it must be considered in relation to its role in society and balanced with other fundamental rights, in accordance with the principle of proportionality. This Regulation respects all fundamental rights and observes the freedom and principles recognized in the Charter, enshrined in the Treaties, namely respect for private and family life, home and communications, the protection of personal data, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of expression and information, freedom of business, the right to action and an impartial tribunal, and cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.